Manufacturing process modern enterprise is a complex mechanism for transforming semi-finished products, raw materials, materials and other items of labor into finished products that satisfy the needs of society. The main task In this case, the production system becomes a continuous improvement of the “value stream” for the consumer, which is based on a rational combination in time and space of all main, auxiliary and service industries. This makes it possible to produce products with minimal labor costs, and economic indicators and production results depend on this. economic activity enterprises, including production costs, profits and profitability of production, the amount of work in progress and the size working capital.

At the same time, at many enterprises one of the main issues is the issue of the efficiency of production processes in terms of the duration of the production cycle. There is a need to spend a lot of effort on coordinating all auxiliary and service production for the uninterrupted supply of the main production with raw materials, electricity, as well as timely maintenance of equipment, warehousing, and transportation. A situation with equipment failure at one technological stage leads to the likelihood of a shutdown of the entire workshop. Hence, the organization of an uninterrupted, efficient production cycle at an enterprise acquires particular relevance and significance for optimizing costs and achieving the best final results.

Production efficiency at most enterprises is directly related to the complexity and duration of the production cycle. The longer this cycle is, the large quantity auxiliary and service industries are involved in it, the less efficient the production as a whole turns out to be. This pattern is explained by the obvious need to spend a lot of effort on coordinating all activities to ensure the uninterrupted supply of basic production with raw materials, energy resources, equipment maintenance, transportation and storage of products, and loading and unloading. Equipment malfunction at one technological stage can lead to disruptions in the entire production, even to its complete stop. Thus, it is especially important to improve efficiency and achieve best results becomes a solution to the problem of stable functioning of the entire production system.

One way to solve this problem is to introduce a system Lean technologies (“Lean manufacturing”), which is designed to optimize production processes, constantly improve product quality while constantly reducing costs. The system is not just a technology, but an entire management concept that assumes maximum market orientation of production with the interested participation of all personnel of the organization. The experience of implementing the described technology, at least in the form of individual elements, at enterprises in various industries has shown its promise, as a result of which there is no doubt about the need to study this experience and further expand the scope of its application.

Economic essence of Lean technologies

As an economic definition, production is a system of converting raw materials, semi-finished products and other objects of labor into finished products that have consumer value for society. The main task of the production system is to continuously improve the process of creating value for the consumer through the rational combination in time and space of all main, auxiliary and service industries. Thus, saving time, material and labor resources, the cost of production decreases, the profitability of production increases, and all economic indicators of the production and economic activities of the enterprise improve.

As the industrial relations Production process control systems are also being developed and improved. One of the latest was the Lean manufacturing system, based on the principles effective management resources, attention to the needs of the customer, concentration on the problem of eliminating all types of losses, comprehensive use of the intellectual potential of the enterprise personnel. One of the main goals of the system is to reduce costs, manage manufacturing enterprise, based on the constant desire to eliminate all types of losses.

Lean Manufacturing Concept combines the optimization of production processes, aimed at constantly improving product quality while constantly reducing costs, with the involvement of every employee in this process. The concept is maximally focused on market business conditions.

Over the past twenty years, the use of new paradigm productivity. It originally originated at Toyota and was called - Toyota Production System (TPS). It is focused on growth in a post-industrial economy, when instead of mass production based on guaranteed demand, there is a need for diversified production capable of satisfying individual customer needs, operating in small batches of a variety of goods, including piece goods. The main task of such production was the creation of competitive products in the required quantity, in as soon as possible and with the least amount of resources.

Production that meets new requirements was called “lean” (lean, lean production, lean manufacturing), and enterprises that increased the operational efficiency of their production thanks to the implementation new system– “lean” (lean enterprise).

Lean businesses differ from others in the following ways:

1. The basis of the production system of such enterprises is people. They are a creative force in the process of producing competitive products, and technologies and equipment are only a means of achieving their goals. No theory, strategy, or technology will make an enterprise successful; This will only be achieved by people based on their intellectual and creative potential.

2. Lean production systems enterprises are focused on complete elimination of losses and continuous improvement of all processes. All company employees, from workers to senior management, are involved in the daily work of preventing all possible types of losses and continuous improvement.

3. Enterprise management makes decisions, taking into account prospects for further development, while immediate financial interests are not decisive. The management of such companies does not engage in useless administration - command, unreasonably strict control, evaluation of employees using complex systems of various indicators; it exists for the reasonable organization of the production process, timely detection, solution and prevention of problems. The ability to see and solve problems in the workplace is valued in every employee - from senior management to workers.

Key tools of the Lean system to increase labor productivity are:

• 5S system– a management technique designed to effectively organize the workspace. The name comes from Japanese words starting with S, for which in Russian you can find analogues starting with the letter C, these are:
  • 1) Sorting items and/or documentation at the workplace according to the degree of their need and frequency of use with the elimination of everything unnecessary;
    2) Systematization, when each item should be in a certain easily accessible place;
    3) Maintaining cleanliness and order;
    4) Standardization of the workplace ordered by previous procedures;
    5) constant improvement of the developed standard.
  • These simple and, at first glance, insignificant procedures, nevertheless, affect labor efficiency, eliminate the loss of things and time, reduce the likelihood of fires and other emergencies, and generally create a favorable microclimate in the workplace.
• Standardized work– a clear and maximally visualized algorithm for performing some kind of certain activities, which includes standards for the duration of the cycle of operations, the sequence of actions when performing these operations, the amount of materials and items in operation (inventory level).
• Methodology "Breakthrough to Flow" is to smooth out and improve the efficiency of the production flow by creating fixed production cycles. In each of the selected cycles, the principles of standardized work discussed in the previous paragraph are implemented.
• TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) concept– system of universal equipment maintenance. This system involves combining the operation of equipment with constant technical maintenance. Thanks to the constant monitoring and maintenance of equipment in working (good) condition by production personnel, the level of losses caused by breakdowns and equipment downtime due to repair work, including planned ones, is reduced, which allows for the highest efficiency throughout life cycle equipment. This frees up the maintenance personnel to deal with more important tasks.
• SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die) system– technology for rapid equipment changeover. In the process of equipment changeover, two groups of operations can be distinguished - external, which can be carried out without stopping the equipment, for example, preparing tools and materials, and internal, for which a break in the operation of the equipment is necessary. The essence of the system is to transfer the maximum number of internal operations to a group of external ones, which becomes possible thanks to the introduction of a number of technological and organizational improvements.
• Pull production system is an approach to organizing the production flow that eliminates losses associated with overproduction or waiting for the completion of the previous stage of work. Each technological operation, as it were, “pulls” required amount products from the previous one and transfers them to the next one. As a result, there is neither a surplus nor a shortage of products in the production process.
• System for submitting and reviewing proposals provides all employees with a clear mechanism for implementing proposals for improvement and provides measures to encourage employees to submit such proposals.

The integrated use of Lean tools allows you to achieve a significant increase in labor productivity without significant investments, almost exclusively using the company’s internal reserves. In essence, the Lean concept is a specific approach to all issues of production organization, which allows not only to implement innovative technologies, increasing labor productivity and production efficiency, but create conditions for the formation corporate culture, based on the general participation of personnel in the process of continuous improvement of the company's activities.

Error Prevention Process Used in Lean Systems

A widely used error prevention method used in Lean systems is the Poka-yoke technique.

Poka-yoke– (poka – random, unintentional error; yoke – error prevention), (English Zero defects – Zero error principle) – the principle of searching for the causes of errors and creating methods and technologies that exclude the very possibility of their occurrence. If it is impossible to complete the work in other ways than the correct one, but the work is done, it means it was done without errors - this is the fundamental idea of ​​the method.

Various defects in products can arise due to human forgetfulness, inattention, misunderstanding, carelessness, etc. Errors of this kind are natural and inevitable, and they must be viewed from this angle in order to find ways to prevent them.

The error prevention technique includes:

• creating prerequisites for defect-free work,
• introduction of defect-free work methods,
• systematic elimination of errors that have arisen,
• taking precautions and implementing simple technical systems, allowing employees to prevent committing a mistake.

The Poka-yoke method, used in conjunction with other lean manufacturing tools, ensures that the manufactured product is defect-free and the production process runs smoothly.

Increasing the efficiency of enterprise management through Lean technologies

Overall use Lean principles can provide significant effects(in times):

• productivity growth – 3-10 times;
• reduction of downtime by 5-20 times;
• reduction in manufacturing cycle time by 10-100 times;
• decrease warehouse stocks– 2-5 times;
• reduction in cases of defects – 5-50 times;
• acceleration of entry to the market of new products by 2-5 times.

The best foreign and Russian practice implementation of lean manufacturing tools gives such results:

• Electronics industry: reduction of production process steps from 31 to 9. Reduction of production cycle from 9 to 1 day. Release of 25% of production space. Savings of about 2 million dollars in six months.
• Aviation industry: reduction of order fulfillment time from 16 months to 16 weeks.
• Automotive industry: quality increase by 40%
• Non-ferrous metallurgy: productivity increase by 35%.
• Overhaul of large-capacity vessels: release of 25% of production space. Reducing the time of one of the main operations from 12 to 2 hours. Saving about 400 thousand dollars in 15 days.
• Assembly of automotive components: release of 20% of production space. Refusal to construct a new production building. Savings of approximately $2.5 million per week.
• Pharmaceutical industry: waste reduction from 6% to 1.2%. Reduce electricity consumption by 56%. Saving 200 thousand dollars annually.
• Consumer goods manufacturing: 55% increase in productivity. Reduction of production cycle by 25%. Inventory reduction by 35%. Savings of about 135 thousand dollars per week.

In general, today in the Russian market there is a shortage of professionals with experience in optimizing production processes through the implementation of lean manufacturing technology. Lean considers any production from the point of view of process optimization by all employees of the company. This global approach hides the main complexity of the “lean production” methodology, since a specialist in this field must combine the skills of a teacher and manager, forecaster and analyst.

Conclusion

Lean production (lean production, lean manufacturing) is a concept for managing a manufacturing enterprise based on the constant desire to eliminate all types of waste. Due to the deployment of a Lean system (lean production system) at the enterprise, the practical implementation of an innovative approach to increasing labor productivity is possible. In essence, the Lean concept is a certain system of views on the organization of production, a kind of production paradigm that allows the implementation of a number of innovative engineering methodologies to increase production efficiency (including labor productivity) and create conditions for the transformation and formation of a corporate culture based on universal participation of personnel in the process of continuous improvement of the company’s activities.

To reduce costs, lean manufacturing principles are often used, which involve eliminating activities that do not add customer value. When optimizing a business, all employees must be clearly customer-oriented. Such a system of approach can not only change the situation in better side, but also to establish a completely new way of life.

Historical data

The principles of lean production at the enterprise were founded in the middle of the last century by a Japanese engineer. A significant contribution to the development of the concept was made by his colleague, who created the fast changeover technology. The first of them knew ways to eliminate losses, and the second knew options for putting them into practice.

Later, American scientists studied the system and began to actively use it under their own name. At first, the concept was applied only in industries with discrete production. These include, for example, the automotive industry. However, gradually the principles were able to be adapted to process production. Later, the basic ideas began to be actively used in trade and other areas of life.

The main meaning of the concept

The starting point of lean manufacturing principles is to assess the value of a product for a specific consumer at each stage of its creation. The main goal of the concept is to create a situation in which continuous elimination of losses will be ensured. Actions that consume resources to one degree or another, but do not create values, are removed.

For example, the average consumer does not need the manufactured product or its elements to be in warehouse. However, under a conventional management system, all costs associated with various indirect costs are transferred to potential client. The concept involves dividing all enterprise activities into separate operations. Processes that do not add value are systematically eliminated from them.

Existing types of losses

The use of lean manufacturing principles should lead to the prevention of major losses. They should not only be eliminated, but also prevent the possibility of their occurrence in the future. The main task of management is to optimize the production process.

There are seven types of losses associated with the following points:

• overproduction;
• waiting time;
• the presence of unnecessary processing stages;
• manufacturing of defective products;
• making unnecessary movements;
• the existence of excess stocks;
• transportation.

Overproduction is considered the main problem. One of the easiest ways to increase your profits is to increase productivity. At the same time, they often forget that the quantity of manufactured products is determined by demand. Sooner or later, manufactured goods accumulate in large volumes in the warehouse.

Review of the basic principles of lean manufacturing

The concept is aimed at organizing an optimal production process. In one of famous books provides information on how this can be achieved. 5 principles of lean manufacturing are taken into account in stages:

1. Determining the value of the manufactured product.
2. Establishing the flow of value formation of the manufactured product.
3. Ensuring process continuity.
4. Providing the consumer with the ability to pull the product.
5. Commitment to improvement.

This should include the achievement High Quality and forming long-term relationships with end consumers. This is achieved by sharing risks, monetary costs and information sources.

The pull principle in lean manufacturing involves giving material resources to another technological operation as necessary. In this case, there is no strict schedule for the movement of material flows.

Basic methods of achievement

There are a number of tools through which the concept is brought to life:

1. Kanban is a system for organizing and supplying a production process. With its help, you can transfer the product to the next technological stage just in time. With this option, there is a balance between supply and consumer demand.
2. Kaizen is a special Japanese practice that emphasizes continuous improvement technological processes. Not only production, but management is improving. Modernization affects workers and management, and does not require large material costs.
3. Poka-eke is a way to prevent mistakes. The method involves protecting items of use from careless human actions during the production process.
4. Rapid changeover is a method that involves reducing various costs and losses during equipment re-equipment. Initially, such a system found application in optimizing operations related to the replacement of dies and the subsequent readjustment of certain devices.
5. The principles of lean manufacturing 5S allow you to organize your workspace as efficiently as possible. The system presupposes a clear separation of things, their proper storage, standardization, strict adherence to established rules, and maintenance of cleanliness. The concept is aimed at reducing the number of accidents, improving the quality of products, creating a comfortable microclimate, improving labor productivity and unifying workplaces.
6. The total equipment maintenance system consists of a number of techniques that are necessary to ensure that the machine is always ready for operations. The overall effectiveness of the mechanisms used is calculated taking into account the degree of readiness, level of intensity and quality.
7. One-piece flow allows materials, services, and invoices to be processed as they are received. In some cases, the system may not be very profitable or physically impossible.

Implementation phases

There are special principles for implementing lean manufacturing. They can be divided into three main phases, which must be implemented in a certain sequence:

1. Demand research process. First you need to determine which category consumers belong to and what requirements they have. Of the tools used, the best ones are calculations of pitch, takt time, as well as buffer and insurance reserves.
2. The stage of achieving continuity of value flow. The phase involves taking certain measures to provide consumers with the necessary products in a timely manner and in the required quantities. To do this, ensuring balance in the loading of production lines, planning work areas and a number of other measures are carried out.
3. The smoothing phase allows you to achieve a balanced distribution of the volume of work carried out directly over certain time intervals (by day, month). At this stage, logisticians are involved and boards are used to consider new ideas.

Under what conditions can implementation be successful?

For the implementation of lean manufacturing principles in an enterprise to be successful, certain conditions must be met:

1. First of all, a plan for training and advanced training of employees should be established, taking into account the specifics of the business entity. All organizations have different resources, financial capabilities and needs. All people have different knowledge, skills and experiences. When planning the learning process, all this should be taken into account.
2. When implementing the concept, it is necessary to use a full range of tools and resources that are suitable for the majority of employees. Some people prefer to visit training courses, and others - to observe the actions of their colleagues.
3. Information should be obtained through benchmarking. The employee training stage involves the development of creative abilities. It is important to teach employees to go beyond the boundaries of a specific enterprise in order to effectively conduct business. They must be able to find options for applying fresh ideas in their own organization.

Manifestation in industries

The main principles of lean manufacturing are clearly visible in many industries. The concept allows you to increase the efficiency of the work process:

1. Lean healthcare is a set of measures that reduces the time spent on medical staff. This does not apply to direct patient care.
2. Lean construction is a special management strategy aimed at increasing the efficiency of construction of objects. Each stage is considered separately.
3. Lean logistics is a pull system that combines the entire network of suppliers participating in the value stream.

Final part

Competent implementation of the basic principles of lean production at an enterprise provides an opportunity to improve the efficiency of its work. Business can be optimized only through maximum focus on certain categories of consumers and the involvement of all employees in this process.

From this article you will learn:

• What is lean manufacturing
• What lean manufacturing tools are most in demand?
• How to implement lean manufacturing in an organization
• What are examples of successful implementation of the lean manufacturing concept abroad and in Russia?

The main task of the production system is continuous formation at the consumers of the “value stream”. Its basis is a competent combination of production processes, allowing production of products with minimal labor costs. Also, this approach has a positive effect on the economic indicators and performance of the company, including the cost of goods, profitability of work, profit, volumes of working capital, etc. All of the above positive changes are facilitated by lean production.

What is a lean manufacturing system?

Lean manufacturing (in English there are two designations: “lean manufacturing” and “lean production”) is a special concept of company management, in which the level of work is increased by reducing waste. Note that everything that negatively affects production efficiency is considered a loss. Their main types include:

• movements (unjustified actions of equipment, operators, provoking an increase in time spent and cost of goods);
• transportation (useless movements causing delays, damage, etc.);
• technology (flaws in technology due to which the product cannot meet all requirements target audience);
• excess production (remaining unsold products, for which you also need to pay for accounting and storage);
• waiting (unfinished products in queue for processing, which also increases the final cost);
• defects (damage that causes additional costs);
• inventories (excess volume of finished goods).

The application of lean manufacturing is permissible both in the design process and in project management, during the manufacture of goods and even in the marketing of products.

The lean production system appeared in the 1980s - 1990s thanks to Japanese engineers Taiichi Ono and Shigeo Shingo (in fact, the first mentions of such an approach were already found in the middle of the 20th century, but only by the end of the century did it take shape one system). Engineers sought to eliminate activities that did not add value to a product throughout its life cycle. It's about not just about technology, it is an entire management concept, maximally oriented to the market. Her prerequisite is the interest in the process of all company personnel.

The practice of using (even individual components) has shown how effective and promising lean manufacturing is, so today this approach has found application in a variety of areas. Initially, it existed only at the Toyota, Honda, etc. factories, which is why the name was “Toyota Production System”. At the moment it is easy to meet in other areas, such as:

• medicine;
• trade;
• logistics;
• Banking services;
• education;
• oil production;
• construction;
• information Technology.

Regardless of the application, lean manufacturing makes it possible to achieve greater productivity with less waste. However, it is worth noting that this system must be adapted to the conditions of a particular company.

Enterprises whose work is based on the concept of lean manufacturing are also called “lean”. A number of characteristics distinguish them from all others:

• Workers are considered the main factor for the normal production process. It is the personnel who are given the role of creative force, while technology is only a way to solve a problem. It is believed that even the best technologies, plans and theories are unable to lead a company to success. Only people with creative and intellectual potential are capable of this.
• Production systems are aimed at eliminating the maximum share of losses and continuous improvement. In these processes daily level Every team member is included: from a simple worker to top management.
• When making any decisions, management takes into account the prospects for further development, and not current material interests. Managers do not engage in unhelpful administration and command, excessively strict control is prohibited, and employee evaluation using large quantity indicators.

The primary task of management is to organize the work process, detect, solve and prevent problems in a timely manner. Let us note that in any specialist the ability to detect difficulties and overcome them is especially valued.

Implementation of a lean production system is impossible without introducing it basic principles and having the skills to work with the tools used here. First of all, let's talk about principles.

How effective is the implementation of lean manufacturing at an enterprise?

Working using Lean methods can provide significant effects:

• increase in productivity by 3–10 times;
• reduction in downtime by 5–20 times;
• reduction of the production cycle by 10–100 times;
• reduction in volumes stored in warehouses by 2–5 times;
• reduction of waste by 5–50 times;
• 2–5 times faster release of new products.

The best examples of foreign and domestic practices in using lean manufacturing technology show the following results in different industries:

• Electronics industry: reducing the number of production steps from 31 to 9, speeding up product manufacturing from 9 to 1 day, freeing up a quarter of production space, saving $2 million in six months.
• Aviation industry: order fulfillment in 16 weeks instead of 16 months.
• Automotive industry: quality increase by 40%.
• Non-ferrous metallurgy: productivity increase by 35%.
• Overhaul of large-tonnage vessels: freeing up a quarter of production space, faster completion of one of the main operations - in 2 hours instead of 12, saving 400 thousand dollars in 15 days.
• Automotive assembly: freeing up 20% of production space, eliminating the need to build a new building, saving $2.5 million in one week.
• Pharmaceutical industry: Reduce waste from 6% to 1.2%, reduce energy consumption by 56%, save $200K each year.
• Consumer goods manufacturing: 55% increase in productivity, 25% reduction in production cycle, 35% reduction in inventory, savings of approximately $135,000 per week.

The Russian market is acutely experiencing a shortage of specialists with experience in optimization using lean manufacturing technology. The fact is that from a Lean perspective, optimization should be carried out by all team members. Such a large-scale approach entails the main difficulty - the specialist must have the skills of a teacher, manager, forecaster and analyst.

Basic principles and goals of lean manufacturing

The lean manufacturing concept divides enterprise activities into two types: operations and processes that add value to a product for a potential customer, and operations and processes that do not. Everything that is included in the second group is considered a loss, which means it must be eliminated.

Let's name the key goals of lean manufacturing:

• reduction of any costs, including labor;
• reduction of product production time;
• reduction of production and warehouse space;
• guarantee of delivery of the order to the client;
• maximum quality at a certain cost/minimum cost at a certain quality.

As we have already said, it will not be possible to implement lean manufacturing without understanding the principles of this system. They may seem simple enough, but the organization will have to spend a lot of effort to implement them.

Here are the basic principles of this system:

• Find out what the product is valuable from the point of view of its end user. The fact is that a company can perform many manipulations that do not bring value to the client. Only by knowing what the consumer wants will you understand which of your processes are valuable to him and which are useless in this sense.
• Select in the work chain necessary actions and discard those related to losses. To do this, you need to describe everything in detail, from the stage of receiving an order to the delivery of the goods to the client. This way you will determine the range of opportunities for optimizing your work.
• Change the sequence of actions in the product manufacturing chain - ideally there should be a flow of work. There can be no waiting time, downtime or other losses between operations. You will likely have to redesign processes and start using new technologies. Remember: only those actions that increase the value of the product are acceptable.
• Do what the end consumer needs, that is, produce the products and volumes that your customers really need.
• Strive for excellence by continuously abandoning useless actions. One-time work on the lean production system is impossible - if you decide to implement this principle, you will have to constantly improve the processes in your company.

8 Lean Manufacturing Tools

• SMED(“change of die in one minute”) is a system for quickly reconfiguring equipment, in which one rule applies: replacing or reconfiguring a tool should take only a few minutes, or better yet, seconds.

This requirement can be met if:

1. divide all adjustment operations into external and internal;
2. convert internal to external;
3. replace the fasteners with functional clamps;
4. use additional devices.

• TPM, or Total Productive Maintenance– a methodology for effective maintenance of equipment with the involvement of the entire team. Through preventive maintenance and maintenance of equipment in working order, its most productive, economical use is achieved.

  The key task in TPM is to identify and eliminate hardware defects before they cause problems. To use this tool, preventative maintenance schedules are required, namely cleaning, lubrication, etc. As a result, the OEE, that is, the indicator of the overall efficiency of the equipment, rises.

• JIT, or Just-In-Time(“just on time”) is a method of careful use of materials and raw materials. All components necessary for a certain stage of production are delivered exactly on time, but not earlier. This way it is possible to avoid overcrowding of warehouses and the accumulation of unfinished goods.

What to consider when organizing a lean production system at an enterprise

When planning to implement lean manufacturing techniques in a company, it is better to start small. For example, focusing on a specific product, project or order and converting it to lean principles - this way you will evaluate the opportunities and benefits of this approach.

When reorganizing, you will have to completely abandon traditional ideas about the work process and its participants. It is better to choose the most serious of all losses and take on it. The positive outcome of such work will increase the confidence of your employees in the lean manufacturing method.

Those companies that cope best with the transition to lean mode are those that combine several streams at once and produce the final product assembled from them. This could be an assembly plant - it receives parts, assembles the car and sells it. If a transformation process is launched in such a company, it may subsequently spread to suppliers and distributors.

The main difficulty in forming a “lean” organization is often the condition of transparency of participants. A lean approach will bring maximum benefit only if all participants in the flow are visible. That is, you will have to disclose trade secrets and financial data, and companies often refuse this. To overcome mistrust, compliance with several conditions will allow:

• the value of each product family is determined jointly by flow participants;
• all firms in the stream should receive benefits corresponding to the volume of their investments;
• members of the flow must collectively and constantly check all areas of the flow to detect losses and eliminate them.

As practice shows, the largest investments occur in the initial stages of the flow (replacing mass production with the production of goods in small batches). And the main benefits go to companies at the last stage of the flow, that is, sellers. To avoid such injustice, companies must find compensation mechanisms, for example, jointly investing in new production facilities.

To start using lean manufacturing in an enterprise, certain conditions are required:

• What is needed is an “agent of change”, this is the name given to a person with sufficient authority who is ready for conflicts and the struggle to introduce new principles.
• The company as a whole, and not just the “change agent,” must have a basic understanding of the essence of lean manufacturing and its processes.
• Business must be in a crisis situation, because only companies in which everything is obviously bad are ready for radical changes.
• It is necessary to have a clear and complete understanding of the value streams in the enterprise.

To implement the flow method of organization, you will have to complete the following steps:

1. Divide production into cells by product families and form teams to work with each of them.
2. Create a unit that will be responsible for collecting and analyzing the experience of working groups. In this way, it will be possible to identify the most productive practices and teach them to other groups.
3. Plan and carry out events that will traditional work batches will develop into a smooth flow, carry out technical reorganization. It is also necessary to identify those value creation processes that the organization is not able to influence at the moment (if any) and decide how to adapt to them.
4. Develop targets, which will become the main ones for the company: reduce the volume of inventories, work cycles, etc.

Staff are often wary of switching to Lean, because optimization usually entails staff reductions. Not wanting to lose people, some organizations are increasing production volumes of goods. This approach is justified due to the effect of frugality, that is, increasing the competitiveness and sales volumes of the company. But we recommend preparing a growth strategy in advance.

As sad as it may be, most often the staff has to be reduced. Cuts should also be made in terms of the gains and losses of lean manufacturing - first saying goodbye to employees who do not add value to the customer.

It is advisable to direct the resources freed up due to the introduction of new operating principles to new needs of the company, to stimulate demand or develop new areas.

A successful example of implementing lean manufacturing outside of Japan

A classic example of lean manufacturing outside of Japan is the story of Porsche. Its sales peak was in 1986, when the company sold 50,000 cars, but in 1992 it managed to sell only 14,000 units. At that time, the company used a traditional German approach: the main bets were placed on engineering excellence, and the company was distinguished by a complex and rigid management structure.

For quite a long time, falling sales were perceived by managers as a temporary market fluctuation, but when Porsche lost $40 million in 1991, a serious crisis became obvious. To save the company, Wendelin Wiedeking was brought in - at that time he was one of the managers largest manufacturer automobile parts. It was he who received the role of “change agent” in the transition to lean manufacturing.

Wiedeking decided to study and borrow the experience of Japanese manufacturers who managed to capture the middle price segment of the European market. In just two years, he visited Japan four times, where he met with specialists and studied in detail the operating principles of the largest automobile companies.

As a result, Porsche entered into an agreement with the Japanese Kaizen Institute (which teaches and implements lean manufacturing worldwide). Research has shown that large losses are associated with an inflexible design and production system, conservatism of engineers, and weak connections between the stages of the value stream. And, what is most surprising for the German brand, another reason for the crisis was the large share of defects in the final products, which were then eliminated by service centers.

Like any old German company, Porsche had difficulty accepting any change. Wiedeking therefore had to organize training in Japan for management, engineering and production personnel and invite experts from Kaizen to Germany.

Wiedeking proposed and implemented the following steps:

1. He reduced the number of management levels from six to four, simplifying the hierarchy of production specialists - they were divided into teams of 10 people, led by one foreman.
2. Created a “board of shame” for visual control quality – all detected defects were recorded here. It was also decided to encourage detection of defects in the early stages while their costs remain minimal. Each employee was explained that the company had to pay much more seriously for defects that reached the consumer than for defects identified at the formation stage. Most of the concern's employees were stunned true price your mistakes.
3. Organized a system for submitting proposals, thanks to which all employees could offer their own ideas for improving work. If a proposal actually improved quality and productivity, it was implemented and the authors of successful ideas were rewarded. Of course, such a system existed before the transition to lean methods (lean production), but then any proposal was met with hostility, and therefore made no sense.
4. Introduced his own quality control system into Porsche. For each team of workers, a list of planned indicators was developed, which could be seen by any employee of the company. This data consisted of the percentage of defects at each stage, the accuracy of the delivery time of parts to the next stage and discipline.

In addition to implementing the above steps, Porsche followed the recommendations of Kaizen specialists, whose main goals were to reduce inventories and organize the smooth movement of parts from processing raw materials to assembling the finished product. But working with own production did not become the only stage for Porsche, the company decided to promote lean manufacturing technologies among its suppliers, requiring deliveries on a just-in-time basis. As a result, over two years, 30 of the 60 supplying factories seriously changed their approach to work.

Thanks to competent management and lean production, from 1991 to 1997, Porsche's key indicators underwent the following changes:

• the time from concept creation to production launch has been reduced from 7 to 3 years;
• the time from the start of welding work to the release of the car was reduced from 6 weeks to 3 days;
• inventory levels decreased by 6 times;
• the level of defects in supplied parts has decreased by 100 times, by production line– 4 times;
• labor costs for manufacturing products decreased by 3 times.

Porsche again achieved profitable results and was able to maintain its independence and its position in the market of expensive sports cars.

Examples of implementing lean manufacturing in Russia

The introduction of a lean production system in our country is difficult task, requiring high energy consumption. And one of the likely scenarios for the development of events is always failure in implementation. The main factor here is the mentality, which is radically different from the Japanese one. However, Russians, compared to the Japanese, have much greater creative potential, so management must approach any implementation creatively, instead of using dry diagrams, rules and ideal order.

Many large Russian companies already apply the principles of lean manufacturing, due to which they can boast tangible advantages over competitors. Thus, the GAZ group has been working according to the Lean system for 14 years and has achieved a reduction in the volume of work in progress by a third, an increase in labor productivity by 20–25% every year, a reduction in the time for equipment changeover to 100%, and a reduction in the production cycle by a third.

In 2013, RUSAL decided to take a more serious step and included suppliers in the lean production system - first of all, management was concerned transport companies. The fact is that the lion's share of RUSAL's production costs is made up of logistics costs, so the chosen approach allowed us to save 15% on costs over five years.

The integrated use of lean methods by the KAMAZ association made it possible to reduce cycle times by 1.5 times, free up 11 thousand pieces of large-sized packaging, reduce inventories by 73 million rubles, and reduce production space by a third.

All of these companies spent 7–15 years to achieve success, but today their market positions remain unattainable by domestic competitors. Therefore, if you are just starting to work with lean methods, do not give up on your endeavors if there are no results in the first months or even years.

The best books about lean manufacturing

Much has been written about lean manufacturing and its flexible methodologies. Below are four books that can help you understand and start using this concept.

• James P. Womack, Daniel Jones. Lean Manufacturing: How to Eliminate Waste and Make Your Company Prosper.

The authors are among the founders and popularizers of Lean, so in this book you will find detailed theory and description practical steps. It also presents many examples from the practice of companies in various countries. We recommend this book specifically to practitioners.

• Taiichi Ono. Production system"Toyotas".

Taiichi Ohno is the creator of the system at Toyota factories, which became the progenitor of Kanban, Lean and other methodologies. Here you will read about the structure of the system and the thirty-year history of the development and success of the brand. The book will be useful to both practitioners and people interested in the philosophy of lean manufacturing.

• The Productivity Press team presents the textbook, Worker-Less Manufacturing.

It talks in detail about existing types losses and how to determine them. The authors teach you to divide all processes into those that add and do not add value to the product, and then show you how to get rid of the latter. The textbook can become reference book managers, directors, owners of enterprises, and it will be useful both together with “Lean” and on its own.

• Eric Rees. Business from scratch. Lean Startup.

The book will be of interest to beginners and more experienced entrepreneurs, as well as people who follow trends modern economy. Eric Ries explains: business and all other areas are developing so rapidly that clear plans for several months are a thing of the past. They were replaced by the “lean startup”. We advise every business owner or anyone who is just thinking about starting their own business to familiarize themselves with this concept.

For a successful business organization, it is important to use a lean production system. The very name of this system contains main principle– organize work in such a way as to eliminate unnecessary labor, time, financial and other costs. If we talk about what lean manufacturing is briefly, then it is a concept of competent management that allows you to optimize any business processes.

Main goals of lean manufacturing

Application of the concept allows you to achieve several goals. The general goal of introducing lean manufacturing is a full-scale reduction in the costs of all resources used in business, without compromising the quality of products, goods or services.

The identification of which the implementation of lean production is aimed at relates to:

• Overproduction, when produced for no one necessary products either too many products are produced;
• Inventory when in manufacturing process excess quantities of materials needed to manufacture the product are received;
• Excessive processing - effort that does not affect the final value of the product for the consumer client;
• Unnecessary movements when moving workers, tools, equipment, which does not in any way affect the improvement of products;
• Defects, defects in products that are checked, sorted, and, if necessary, disposed of, or their grade is changed, repaired, or replaced;
• Expectations – time costs associated with waiting for workers, materials, equipment, information;
• Transportation – moving parts or materials within a production organization.

Principles and tools of lean manufacturing

Any concept is built on principles specific to its characteristics. The basic principles of lean production in an enterprise are:

1. Determining the value of the manufactured product for the final client-consumer.
2. Determination of the value stream for manufactured products.
3. Ensuring continuity of updated product production.
4. The desire to do only what the end consumer needs.
5. Continuous business improvement.

Let's take a closer look at each of the above 5 principles for implementing lean manufacturing.

Principle No. 1 allows you to identify what is valuable in the selected product for the end consumer. Often, an enterprise puts in extra effort that does not affect the value of the product. These are the ones that need to be determined in order to achieve the desired result from the implemented system.

Principle No. 2 makes it possible to determine losses during the production of a product. To do this, you should describe all the actions taken by the enterprise, the result of which is the delivery of the product to the final consumer.

Principle No. 3 ensures that activities in the production chain are modernized so that they are carried out in a continuous manner. There should be no time or other losses between actions.

By applying principle No. 4, it is possible to achieve the production of a product only of the type and quantity that is required by customer-consumers. Taking into account the needs of the latter is mandatory if the goal is to organize lean production at the enterprise.

Principle No. 5 is very important when using lean manufacturing technology. Production will remain lean only by constantly improving it, reducing unnecessary effort and costs.

As a result of applying all the basic principles, it will be possible to achieve a significant reduction in costs. The result of implementation will be the opportunity to:

• Offer the consumer the product he needs;
• Reduce the cost of the product if necessary;
• Increase sales volumes due to customer satisfaction.

Methods and tools for implementing lean manufacturing

The basic methods are the practical elements for effectively achieving the goal.

Scope of application of lean manufacturing tools

Today, lean manufacturing methodology is used in various manufacturing areas. It is used in various industries, large and small large enterprises. The application of the lean manufacturing method is observed in the activities of companies engaged in:

• Production
• Providing logistics services;
• Banking and trade;
• Creation and implementation of information technologies;
• Construction;
• Medical care;
• Extraction of oil, various minerals, etc.

It is important that lean production in an enterprise engaged in a certain type of activity is subject to adaptation to specific production conditions. In this case, it is always possible to achieve an increase in work efficiency by reducing various types losses.

Lean manufacturing, basic concepts

Lean(Lean Production) - a system for organizing and managing product development, operations, relationships with suppliers and customers, in which products are manufactured in strict accordance with consumer requests and with fewer defects compared to products made using mass production technology. At the same time, the costs of labor, space, capital and time are reduced.

Lean-enterprise Lean Enterprise is a business system for organizing and managing product development, operations, supplier and customer relationships, using lean manufacturing principles, practices and tools to create clearly defined customer value (products and services with higher quality and fewer defects , with less labor, in a smaller production area, with less capital and in less time compared to the traditional mass production system).

Lean businesses involved in the production of a specific family of products operate under an agreement whereby they define the value of the product from the end customer's perspective, eliminate unproductive activities from the value stream, and implement activities that create value in a continuous flow as they are pulled. products by the client. The collaborating companies carry out the listed procedures continuously throughout the entire life cycle of a given product family.

The presented definition of a lean production system very succinctly expresses the essence of this concept. Let's try to reveal some provisions of this definition.

An important principle of the lean manufacturing concept is continuous improvement and the participation of the entire team in this process.

“Creating clearly defined customer value” involves understanding what is of value to the consumer. And here you cannot rely solely on your own knowledge. Work should be carried out to identify all components of consumer value, sometimes directly with the end consumer of the product/service. This is a guarantee that consumer requirements will be satisfied most fully and at the lowest cost (excessive work is eliminated).

If a company is engaged in lean manufacturing, it means that it puts the interests of the customer, buyer, client, partner and its own employees at the forefront, and everyone benefits from this. Therefore, the implementation of lean manufacturing is the best business card for introducing the company to partners and customers.

"With less labor, in a smaller production area, with less capital and in less time"- in the lean manufacturing concept this means exclusion all types of losses(overproduction, excessive processing, waiting losses, transportation losses, personnel movements, losses due to defects/rework, etc.).

2. The concept of lean production is based on five principles that define guidelines for managers in the transition to lean production:

Determining Value each product family from the customer's point of view.

Definition of all value stream stages for each product family and eliminating, where possible, non-value-added activities.

Building operations that create value in strict sequence ensuring smooth movement of the product in the flow, directed to the client.

Upon completion of flow formation – creating the ability to “pull” clients of value from the previous stage.

Upon completion of value determination, identification of value streams, elimination of stages that cause losses, as well as formation of a pull system– repeating the entire process again as many times as necessary to achieve a state of perfection in which absolute value is created and there is no loss.

It is necessary to explain what is push production and pull production.

Push production – processing of products in large batches at maximum speed based on forecast demand, followed by moving the products to the next production stage or warehouse, regardless of the actual pace of the next process or the needs of the customer (consumer). Within such a system, it is almost impossible to implement lean manufacturing tools.

Pull production- a method of production management in which subsequent operations signal their needs to previous operations.

There are three types of pull production:

Supermarket pull system (refund/replenishment system) – type a pull system.

Sequential pull system – type B pull system.

Mixed pulling system – type c pulling system.

Supermarket pull system– the most popular. With it, at each production stage there is a warehouse - a supermarket, in which a certain volume of products manufactured at this stage is stored. At each stage, as many products are produced as were withdrawn from the supermarket. Typically, when products are removed from a supermarket by a downstream process, the consumer, the latter sends information about the withdrawal upstream to the upstream process using a special card (kanban) or other means.

Each process is responsible for replenishing the stocks of its supermarket, so operational management and the search for objects of continuous improvement (kaizen) is not difficult. However, its use is complicated when there are a large number of types of products produced.

Sequential pull system It is advisable to use when there is a large range of products produced by one process, i.e. when it is difficult or practically impossible to maintain a stock of each type of product in the supermarket. Products are essentially made to order, keeping overall system inventory to a minimum. A consistent system requires maintaining short and predictable lead times; one must have a good understanding of the pattern of orders received from the client. The functioning of such a system requires very strong leadership.

Mixed pull system– involves a combination of the two listed systems. It is advisable to use it when the 80/20 rule applies, i.e. when a small proportion of product types (approximately 20%) account for the largest portion of daily output (approximately 80%).

All types of products are divided into groups according to production volume: large volume, medium volume, low volume and rare orders. For the “rare orders” group, it is advisable to use a sequential pull system. For other groups - a supermarket pull system. With a mixed pull system, it may be more difficult to manage improvement and identify deviations.

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